


Mistletoe Magic

by R_E_R6



Series: Buddie: Future, Family & Fun [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buddie Daughter!, Christmas In July | Christmas Out Of Season, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Future Fic, Kisses, M/M, Married Life, Mistletoe, Soft Eddie Diaz, Soft Evan "Buck" Buckley, married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:09:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25448875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_E_R6/pseuds/R_E_R6
Summary: “Mis’doe,” she attempts to repeat, stumbling over the word, “flower?”“Exactly,” Eddie agrees with a serious nod, “a magic flower.”Isabel gasps, so Eddie does as well. It catches Chris’ attention too and he looks up from a stack of old books he’s sorting through to roll his eyes at their antics. His smile gives him away though and Buck knows their son is just as amused as he is.ORWhile sorting through the garage, Isabel finds some mistletoe and spurs a round of family fun and kisses. It also leads to Eddie revealing a sweet secret to Buck.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Buddie: Future, Family & Fun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843147
Comments: 10
Kudos: 149





	Mistletoe Magic

**Author's Note:**

> So I loved writing the last on so much I made a part 2. I hope you enjoy!

Buck sets down another box and uses the moment to wipe at his eyes while he’s facing away from his family. They’ve spent the beginning of the summer redecorating the kids’ bedrooms and now they’re in the garage sorting through everything they’d dumped in there “until later”. Now that later has finally arrived though, the feelings Buck has been pushing down all this time are finally catching up to him. 

It’s dawned on him in these past few months just how fast kids grow up and, to be honest, he’s not handling it well. Christopher, the sweet kid he’d met in the back seat of his Jeep, who had easily brightened one of the most stressful days he’d worked up until that point with just his smile -all childish glee with a few emerging adult teeth scattered amongst the rest- would be starting high school at the end of the summer. High school. Buck is not ashamed to say he’d bawled his eyes out at Chris’ Middle School graduation. It’s a good thing he’d been clicking away obsessively with his camera because his vision was blurred for most of the day. Because of that he has countless pictures of his son, a full set of adult teeth on show as he beams excitedly at the camera. He'd been so happy to grow up and Buck just wanted to wrap him up in his arms and keep him from growing up too fast. He already knows he's going to be completely pathetic when high school graduation rolls around. 

Even Isabel is shooting up. She marches around the house like she owns the place now, surefooted and no longer stumbling like when she’d first started to walk. They’ve just got her a new bed, a proper toddler bed because she’s outgrown her crib. Not to say they couldn’t have held off a little longer while she could still fit comfortably, but at two and a half she is beginning to master the art of climbing and the crib's sides had been her favourite obstacle. When she’d woke Eddie up one morning by hitting her palm against his nose, they’d thought it was the time to get her out of the crib before it became too big a danger. Their little girl is a stubborn little daredevil and the last thing they needed was to allow her to get hurt climbing out of her bed. 

“Daddy, wassat?” 

Buck turns with a sniffle, which he disguises beneath a cough, as Isabel breaks through his nostalgia with her usual perky curiosity. He smiles as he watches her stand and turn towards Eddie with a plastic sprig of mistletoe gripped in his tiny fist. Buck had just moved the Christmas decorations from there so he figures it must have fallen from the box. She hadn't been interested in the decorations back in December, but now she runs straight up to Eddie’s legs and thrusts it upwards in excitement. Eddie reaches down with both arms and lifts her, pretending to inspect it closely and hum thoughtfully. 

“You know, I’m pretty sure that’s mistletoe,” he whispers enthusiastically with his eyes widened in awe, leaning in as if he’s revealing a secret. Isabel is enraptured and mimics Eddie’s movement until their foreheads are pressed together, blue eyes boring into brown. To Buck, it’s the most adorable thing he’s seen since the last time he saw them be this adorable. As you can probably tell, they’re adorable a lot, in Buck’s totally unbiased opinion. 

“Mis’doe,” she attempts to repeat, stumbling over the word, “flower?”

“Exactly,” Eddie agrees with a serious nod, “a magic flower.”

Isabel gasps, so Eddie does as well. It catches Chris’ attention too and he looks up from a stack of old books he’s sorting through to roll his eyes at their antics. His smile gives him away though and Buck knows their son is just as amused as he is. 

“Elsa magic?” 

Eddie laughs at that only to sober up when she throws his signature disapproving brows back at him. Then it’s Buck who has to hold in a laugh at Eddie’s chastened look. 

“Not Elsa magic,” Eddie says, and the scrunch of Isabel’s eyebrows deepens until Eddie adds, “Christmas kissing magic.”

Then her eyes wide with curiosity as she looks from Eddie to the mistletoe and back, “kisses flower?”

“Yup, watch.”

With that, he lifts the arm holding the sprig and ducks his head beneath it before jolting his head as if he’s been shocked. Isabel is completely enraptured as she watches to see what happens next.

“See, now Daddy wants kisses. Will you give me one?”

“My want kisses!” she agrees enthusiastically before gasping, “It is magic!” 

“I told you,” Eddie replies, “now do I get kisses?”

Isabel nods and cranes her neck as far as she can without waiting for Eddie to move closer, then presses her lips to his stubble-covered cheek. She giggles as she pulls away rubbing at her lips.

“Tiggles, Daddy,” she complains while still grinning.

“Does it?” Eddie asks innocently, eyes sparkling with mischief. She nods and Eddie puts on a thoughtful look, complete with pursed lips, “wow, what can we do about that, huh?”

Isabel shrugs and Buck sucks his lips between his teeth, already knowing what’s coming next. Their daughter is smart, but she’s still just a toddler and she falls for this every time. She doesn’t even have a chance to move as Eddie quickly dives his chin down and begins rubbing his stubble lightly across her face while he peppers her cheeks and forehead with kisses. Isabel immediately erupts with giggles and the sound fills the garage and spills out onto the quiet street. It completely erases any lingering melancholy Buck is feeling. 

“Daddy, stop it!” she commands through her squeals. 

Eddie pulls off immediately and lowers his eyebrows as his face takes on a mask of concern, “What’s the matter, Iz? Didn’t that help?”

She shakes her head vehemently and settles her hands on her hips. Buck is pretty sure it’s also a strategy to keep the mistletoe away from Eddie and avoid more tickly kisses. 

“No, it scratchy.”

“Oh, maybe you should try the magic on your brother then," Eddie suggests, "he doesn’t have a scratchy face.”

Isabel looks over at Chris with a grin before nodding. The teenager - _teenager_ , God it’s still weird to say,- pretends he isn’t paying attention and pointedly looks the other way as she wriggles down from Eddie’s arms and makes her way over to where he’s sitting cross-legged on the floor. Pride fills Buck’s chest when she pops her head in front of his face and he pretends she’s succeeded in sneaking up on him and making him jump. Buck had honestly been a little worried about Chris feeling left out or replaced when they’d decided to have another kid, but he’d taken to being a big brother like a duck to water. He’s adored Isabel since the day she was born and she shares the sentiment, always following him around and trying to follow his lead in everything he does. Thankfully, their bond has only grown stronger as they have grown older. Even as a teenager, Chris always makes time for playing with his baby sister.

Now, as she lifts the mistletoe over his head, it’s clear he’s been paying more attention to her and Eddie’s exchange than he’d tried to make out as he immediately widens his eyes with a gasp and proclaims, “Mistletoe! Now I want kisses.”

Isabel grins triumphantly and leans forward to deliver. She’s excited as she pulls away and moves a little too fast, resulting in a small stumble that sends her falling into Chris’ lap. He catches her and wraps her in his arms as she continues talking as if it didn’t happen.

“It magic, ‘Ris.”

“I know, I felt it,” he agrees as he helps her back on her feet.

Buck’s eyes are prickling with tears again, though this time for a completely different reason. Scanning the room and taking in his little family, Buck is immensely grateful to have them. He couldn’t possibly begin to explain how he got so lucky, but somehow everything fell into place and he gets to have and keep these three beautiful human beings and love them every day. And somehow, miraculously, they love him back just as much. 

Buck swipes at his eyes again and turns to get back to work. If he keeps dwelling in thoughts of how much he loves his family, he’ll be here smiling through his tears all day and never get the garage sorted. Instead, he turns his focus to the small pile of discarded kids bedroom furniture he has to sort through and load onto Eddie's truck so they can take it to be donated. 

His concentration doesn’t last long when he feels a gentle tugging at the back of his jeans. His smile is bright as he turns around, arms already reaching for Isabel by the time he faces her. 

“Well hello, Isabel,” he greets, delighting in the way she grins back cheerfully at the greeting and jumps into his arms so he can lift her.

“‘Lo, Papa,” she returns before he’s hit in the face with the pointy plastic edges of artificial leaves. “My gots magic.”

Eddie snorts and Buck shoots him a knowing look over her shoulder. She’s clearly given up on the official name already. It’s unsurprising, their little girl is crazy about all things magic. Anything that seems remotely magical to her gets named as such right alongside superpowers, colour changing lights, and bubble bath. Don’t even try to tell her Abuela’s soup isn’t magic, she’ll riot. 

“Do you really? What kind of magic?”

“Kisses magic!” She yells, lifting the sprig as high as she can. Like Eddie, Buck helps her out by dipping his head lower and she takes the opportunity to throw her other arm around him and plant kisses all over his face. 

“Wow,” Buck enthuses, “that is magic.”

“Mhmm,” she nods and then, in that exasperated tone of condescension that all toddlers seem to master, she finishes with “my know a’ready, Papa.”

Buck’s laugh slips through his toothy grin and he once again shoots Eddie a look over her shoulder.

This time, his husband shrugs with a smirk and proclaims, “That’s all you, Babe.”

Buck snorts in reply before sticking his tongue out when Isabel isn’t looking. She’d caught him once before and it took them a week to get her to stop doing it to everyone constantly. Not Buck’s finest parenting moment, but you live and learn. 

Isabel, seemingly done with the mistletoe now that she’s run out of people to kiss, tries to balance it behind Buck’s ear before giving up and pushing it against his chest until he takes it. Then she asks to be put down so she can run off to play with the toys they’d set up for her just behind where Chris is sitting, out of the way of all the mess and moving. Buck watches her go for a moment, eyes flitting from her to Chris and thinking once again about how lucky he feels to have them. Lastly, his eyes land on Eddie, who is already smiling back at him.

Eddie is, much like Buck, more than a little sweaty from moving boxes in the sun all morning. A thin sheen coats his skin and, with the sun shining through the open garage door on Eddie’s left, Buck can’t help but notice how the skin on his bicep glistens and emphasises the muscle definition. Yeah, he’s definitely a lucky man. Eddie in general is amazing, but that body is an added perk that Buck thoroughly enjoys. 

“You don’t look like you’re working too hard over there,” Eddie teases. He’s clearly noticed Buck’s staring but Buck refuses to be ashamed. If anything, it encourages him and he rakes his eyes over Eddie’s entire body slowly. 

“Just stopping to enjoy the view for a little bit.”

“Is that right?”

Eddie saunters towards him now, a confident swagger that has Buck’s heart racing. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty hot today, makes for nice scenery.”

Eddie’s in front of him now and snorts as he reaches for Buck’s waist. 

“That wasn’t subtle at all.”

“Wasn’t aware I needed to be,” Buck counters with a single raised eyebrow. “I have absolutely no problem admitting to ogling my husband. You’re hot as hell.”

Eddie’s lips tilt at the corners and he tries to play off his blush, “even now that we’re old?”

“We are not old.”

“No? Our baby is going to high school. I feel old.”

Buck groans and drops his forehead to Eddie’s shoulder, “Don’t remind me, it’s all I’ve been thinking about all day. Pretty sure I’m going to dehydrate between all the lifting and crying. Talk about something else, Eds, please.”

Eddie wraps his arms more securely around Buck’s back and pulls him tighter before Buck feels lips at his temple. He sighs in contentment as Eddie begins rubbing his back slowly. It’s hot out, probably too hot for cuddling right about now, but he’s far too comfortable in Eddie’s arms to move regardless of the weather. 

“Well,” Eddie begins, taking Buck’s suggestion and choosing to change the subject, “do you remember where this mistletoe came from?”

Buck pulls away just far enough so Eddie can see the bewildered shake of his head.

“It’s not mine, you already had it when I moved in.”

“Yeah, I did,” Eddie agrees before reaching out to take the mistletoe and twist the stem between his fingers. “It’s definitely yours though. Or maybe Athena’s now that I think about it. Either way, I totally stole it.”

“Damn, Diaz, theft? Don’t tell the kids, you'll set a bad example,” Buck jokes before reaching out and placing his hand over Eddie’s to lift the mistletoe closer. It just looks like mistletoe, the same mistletoe they hang above the kitchen doorway together each year, ever since his first Christmas living with Eddie. Eddie’s face is completely serious though and Buck knows he’s not stringing him along, there is clearly some hidden significance. “Seriously though? Where did it come from then?”

“Christmas, twenty-nineteen. It was my first Christmas working as a firefighter and Chris was upset about me not being there. Remember? He even asked if he could spend Christmas with you.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that. I felt so bad telling him no.”

“Yeah," Eddie snorts as he regards Buck fondly, "so bad that you arranged a whole Christmas party so we could spend it together.”

“Not just me-”

“I know, Athena helped, but we both know it was your idea.”

Buck shrugs, unable to deny it. He’d felt compelled to carry out the plan once he’d thought of it, determined to give Eddie and Chris a good Christmas. 

“Exactly,” Eddie says triumphantly before nodding to the mistletoe again, “this is the piece of mistletoe that was hung at the station. It was right above our heads when we took that big group photo. I didn’t notice until after, but once I did I wished I’d seen it sooner so I could have kissed you. That’s when I realised I was in love with you.”

Buck’s throat feels tight as his mouth drops open in awe. Eddie kept it all this time, hanging it over them every Christmas and Buck had no clue how significant it was. Hearing it now, he can’t help but agree. He would have loved to look up and see the mistletoe hanging there that night. He’d realised he was in love with Eddie as soon as he’d looked at him that day at Hen’s when he was making gingerbread houses with the kids. Looking back, he knows he'd only gone to spend time with them some more. Chris had asked him about Christmas, and he’d seen the miserable looks in both he and Eddie’s eyes, and Buck had wanted to give them everything. The strength of his feelings was undeniable at that point and he wouldn't have hesitated if he'd known back then that Eddie felt the same.

Though, he supposes, things worked out pretty well on their own anyways. 

He says as much to Eddie, and the bright smile Eddie gives him in return is almost blinding. A small, incredibly sappy voice in Buck’s head tells him not to look away, and to never stop making Eddie smile because he’d rather be blinded than miss out on an opportunity to add more of that joy to their lives 

“Yeah, I guess it did. After all, I get to kiss you whenever I want now, with or without mistletoe.”

Eddie's chin tilts as he says the words, lips seeking Buck’s even as their eyes stay locked together. After all these years there might as well be magnets in their mouths, they can find each other's lips without fail even in pitch darkness. After all, practice makes perfect and they’ve certainly had plenty of that. 

“Exactly,” Buck replies, leaning in to meet Eddie’s lips before his mind can drift to all the other places on Eddie’s body he can find in the dark. His eyes slip closed as they fall into a familiar rhythm, kissing languidly with the sound of Isabel and Chris’ voices filling the space around them. They may only be cleaning out the garage, but it’s definitely turned out to be a good day in Buck’s book. He’s sure he’ll remember this moment for years to come and think back on the time Eddie told him this story. 

It’s another chapter in the book of their lives and Buck can’t wait to see where else their story goes. Maybe he’ll even be able to convince Eddie to make use of the empty crib in the corner of the garage, but that’s a conversation for another day. For now, he’s happy to relish the family he has right here with him. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, that's part 2. I'm sure there'll be more to come because I'm in love with this series. 
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you think.


End file.
